Doma Polo Bistro: Great Start Argentine Style

We began with the beef empanadas, stuffed also with chopped olives, onions, potatoes and hard boiled eggs ($7 for two). At Doma Polo Bistro, the empanadas are Tucuman-style, which basically means they are fried. The platter is served with a selection of salsa criolla -- red and green peppers with tomatoes, onions, parsley in olive oil and vinegar -- or chimichurri -- parsley, garlic, vinegar, red pepper flakes and olive oil.

Emily Codik

Ensalada de tomates

The ensalada de tomates, with watercress, red and yellow tomatoes and red onion in an herbed vinaigrette with garlic-basil oil, costs a fair price of $9. Additions of protein make the dish costlier: chicken for $6, shrimp for $6 and steak for $8. We selected the latter for a pricey total of $17. The beef arrived in haphazard chunks, but the meat was so tender that the presentation was quickly forgiven.

The rest of the menu includes other traditional offerings like a picada de parilla for $24 -- grilled skirt steak, blood sausage, Argentinean chorizo, sweetbreads, veal kidneys and two empanadas.

Most pastas are listed in two portions: medium or large. For example, ñoquis caseros (housemade gnocchi) in a beef and lamb ragú with julienned zucchini, are listed as $17 and $24, respectively.

Meat and chicken are named under "meats and tradition", so it's fitting that the plates are also classics. Milanesa (chicken or beef), pollo asado (roast chicken) and ojo de bife a la parilla (grilled ribeye) are a few of the selections. Desserts include panna cotta with berries ($7) and dulce de leche crepes ($7).

The service is extremely attentive, friendly and timely. In fact, our water glasses were always filled to the brim. The day we visited, however, the restaurant had run out of Quilmes.

At Doma Polo Bistro, the fare is traditional Argentinian and the décor is polo-driven, but the prices are moderately high.